Author – Rajeshwari Kalyanam
Aakhol brings the understated elegance of Assamese cuisine to Hyderabad, offering a dining experience rooted in authenticity, tradition and the comforting flavours of home. More than just a restaurant, it introduces diners to one of India’s least-explored regional cuisines, where fresh ingredients and gentle seasoning take centre stage.
The Power Welfare Society on Gandipet Main Road, Kokapet, is a buzzing complex, especially during the evenings, when various food kiosks and stalls set out their tables, converting the place into a vibrant food hub.
The new Assamese restaurant, Aakhol, which recently opened in the complex, carries distinct earthy, native elements while sporting a minimal modern vibe. An Assamese word for kitchen, Aakhol has evolved from a cloud kitchen that was quite familiar to the Eastern Indian community in Hyderabad into an intimate restaurant serving homemade and popular regional recipes. Dr. Alpaxee Kashyap, the founder, brought in bits and pieces from her childhood memories of visiting her grandmother’s home in Assam while decorating the intimate space, using grass, cane, wood and traditional textiles dotting the walls. The glass wall on one side overlooks the green trees outside. “They remind me of home,” she says.
While Alexa plays Bhupen Hazarika’s Dil Hoon Hoon Kare mellifluously in the background, as you settle into the comfortably placed dining chairs and tables, you soak in what the wettest state of India represents—simple people, proud of their culture and identity, carrying forward tradition while worshipping nature.
Aakhol’s à la carte menu has important dishes like Aloo Pitika, Koldil Fry, Xorioh Sojina (drumstick in mustard gravy), Til Chutney, Bamboo Shoot Chicken, Bamboo Shoot Fish, Patot Diya Maas (steamed fish with mustard sauce wrapped in a banana leaf), and Maasor Murighonto (rice and fish head curry). But, the best way to first experience the restaurant is to try the thali, which has a bit of everything.
At first glance, Assamese food may appear understated, particularly to Hyderabad’s spice-loving diners. Yet, within a few mouthfuls, it becomes evident that this cuisine is built on an entirely different philosophy. Rather than layering dishes with complex spice blends, Assamese cooking celebrates freshness, seasonality and restraint. Ingredients are allowed to retain their individual character, while mustard oil, green chillies and indigenous herbs provide gentle accents instead of dominating the palate. While savouring the aromas, textures and flavours, a bite into the fresh green chillies and onions that inevitably find a place on an Assamese table, or the Bhut Jolokia chutney on the side, offers a sharp bite to complement the food for the uninitiated.
Alpaxee makes no attempt to alter the cuisine to suit local preferences. In fact, she proudly points out that her kitchen does not stock red chilli powder at all.
“Our spice levels are modest, but the food is still full of flavour,” she says. “We rely on fresh green chillies, slow-cooked onions and mild ingredients instead of heavy masalas. I wanted Hyderabad to experience Assamese food exactly the way we eat it at home.”
Assamese cuisine at Aakhol is relatable with its familiar tastes and flavours, and includes vegetables like banana flower, banana stem, raw papaya, taro leaves, pumpkin, bottle gourd and tiny baby potatoes sourced from Assam, while introducing ingredients like the wild Thekera fruit, used in the tangy and refreshing Thekera Pani and several other recipes; Khar, the alkaline banana peel that forms an entire category of dishes; Nemu, the Assamese lemon; and one of the spiciest chillies in the world—the Bhut Jolokia—sourced all the way from Assam for authenticity.
Alpaxee’s grandfather established the iconic Laxmi Cabin in Guwahati’s Fancy Bazar in 1942, while her parents went on to build Aarian Woods, a boutique resort whose in-house Assamese restaurant was also called Aakhol. When she moved to Hyderabad in 2019 and found herself longing for the familiar flavours of home, she started a small pre-order kitchen under the same name. Although it was conceived primarily for the Assamese community, the response surprised her. Nearly half her customers came from outside Assam, many simply curious to explore a cuisine they had never encountered before. That unexpected interest eventually inspired the opening of the restaurant.
Assamese food, shaped by local ingredients and age-old practices at Aakhol, offers diners an opportunity to discover one of India’s most nuanced culinary cultures exactly as it has been enjoyed for generations. The flavours may be gentle, but the experience lingers long after the meal is over, proving that authenticity often speaks far more powerfully than excess.
